NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man accused of slashing the throats of his wife and five children has pleaded not guilty.

Mesac Damas did not appear in court in Naples on Monday for the brief arraignment on six counts of first-degree murder. A prosecutor said the 33-year-old grill cook had already entered a not-guilty plea.

Damas is charged with killing his 32-year-old wife, Guerline, and their children who ranged in age from 19 months to 9 years old. Their bodies were discovered Sept. 19 in the family’s town house.

Authorities say Damas then flew to his native Haiti, where he was eventually arrested.

He admitted to a reporter that he committed the slayings, and he told investigators that “bad spirits” made him do it.